Martha Koome: I wish Supreme Court had 11 judges

Chief Justice Martha Koome has proposed expanding the Supreme Court bench to 11 judges, up from the current seven. She said this would allow the court to handle cases simultaneously.

Speaking during Spice FM’s Situation Room on Thursday, Koome described the current number of apex court judges as “limited,” adding that an expanded bench would also free the Chief Justice to handle other administrative responsibilities.

“It is very difficult because this is a very small bench. It doesn’t allow for much latitude. We wish we had 11 judges, where we could have two benches sitting, and the Chief Justice could be released to deal with the Judicial Service Commission and other obligations. I have almost 67 statutory duties to perform under our law,” she said.

As CJ , Koome is the president of the Supreme Court and also chairs the Judicial Service Commission, serving as the administrative head of the Judiciary.

Such changes would require an amendment to Article 163 of the Constitution, which currently provides that the Supreme Court shall comprise the CJ, a deputy, and five other judges.

Constitutional lawyer Bobby Mkangi argues that such an amendment might require a referendum “depending on the extent to which the proposal touches on the independence of the judiciary.”

“For instance, if the argument is similar to one in the US, where some propose increasing the number of Supreme Court judges because they believe the current number of nine has become vulnerable to political influence and other whims, then such a proposal could have implications for the independence of the court,” said Mkangi.

“Such a proposal would therefore have to be decided by the people through Article 255 of the Constitution of Kenya, because it suggests that the current seven judges are easily manipulated, and an increase in their number would help address this,” he added.